Sailing vessel with the luff of the mainsail clear of the mast

ABSTRACT

A sailing vessel in which the mainsail luff is set on a different plane than the mast to avoid wind turbulence aft of a supporting mast. A track is secured athwartship just aft of the mast and the tack of the mainsail moves along the track. The luff of the mainsail is sparless so as not to interfere with the airfoil.

United States Patent Daivd W. Ellis 271 Lincoln Ave., Barrington, RJ.02806 875,443

Nov. 10, 1969 Dec. 14, 1971 inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented SAILINGVESSEL WITH THE LUFF OF THE MAINSAIL CLEAR OF THE MAST 5 Claims, 5Drawing Figs.

U.S. C1 1 14/39, 1 14/ l 02 Int. Cl B63h 35/00, B63h 9/00 1 14/39,

Field of Search [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,670,9365/1928 McIntyre et a]. 1 14/39 X 1,856,803 5/1932 Blackman 1 14/1023,259,093 7/1966 Taylor 114/39 X Primary Examiner-Trygve M. BlixAttorney-Barlow & Barlow ABSTRACT: A sailing vessel in which themainsail lufi is set on a different plane than the mast to avoid windturbulence aft of a supporting mast. A track is secured athwartship justaft of the mast and the tack of the mainsail moves along the track. Theluff of the mainsail is sparless so as not to interfere with theairfoil.

Patented Dec. 14, 1971 3,626,883

3 Sheets-Sheet l FIG.|

INVENTOR DAVID W. ELLIS Patented Dec. 14, 1971 3,626,,fi83

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR DAVID w, ELL|S flaw WM ATTORNEYS Patented Dec.14, 1971 I5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR DAVID w. ELLIS ATTORNEYS SAILINGVESSEL WITH THE lLUFF OF THE MAINSAIL CLEAR OF THE MAST BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION In a sailing vessel the mainsail usually has the luffwhich extends from the head to the tack of the sail behind thesupporting mast; the mast causes turbulence of the air particularly onthe leeward side of the luff of the sail and is, therefore, inefficientIt is often noticed that the mainsail is much less efficient than thejib because the jib does not have its luff back of a mast. This is trueon most points of sailing except directly before the wind. Of course,the thicker the mast, the more the turbulence, and the less efficient isthe sail behind it.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A sailing vessel in which the mainsail issupported at its head by a mast while the tack of the sail is positionedto one side of the mast, causing the luff of the sail to be on adifferent plane than the mast.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a sloop righaving a mainsail and jib with my improved rig for locating the mainsailout from behind the mast;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a multihulled vessel with two mainsailsand a jib, the mainsails being also rigged to have their Iuffs at anincline to the vertical and out from behind the mast;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a vessel with an outrigger pointed atboth ends and showing an arrangement of sails wherein one may become themainsail and the other a jib when the vessel is going with one endforward; while the jib becomes a mainsail and the mainsail becomes a jibwhen the vessel is going with the other end forward and in the oppositedirection;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 showing the rig when the opposite endof the vessel is'leading and going in the opposite direction from thatshown in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 with the mainsail in a differentposition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIG. I I have illustrated thehull of a sailing vessel as with the mast 11 extending upwardlytherefrom and held in position by a port stay 12 and a starboard stay14. The head stay is designated 15 upon which the jib 16 is mounted withits tack 17 secured to the bow of the vessel 10 and its clew 18 sheetedas at 19 through a block 20 which may move along a T-shaped rail 21 withthe sheet 19 held in position by a jam cleat 22.

The mainsail is designated generally 25 and has a head 26, tack 27, luff28 extending between the head and the tack, while there is a clew 29.The head 26 is held at the upper part of the mast by any suitablehalyard arrangement, while the tack is secured to a slider 30 which maybe moved laterally of the vessel along a traveler bar 31 which may insome cases extend beyond the opposite side rails of the vessel. Theslider 30 has suitable outhauls extending from the slider about a block32 on the port end of the traveler bar 31 and then led in as at 33 tocome cleat, while at the opposite end of the traveler bar 31 a starboardouthaul 34 may be attached to the slider 30, then through the block 35and inwardly as at 36 to be made fast to a cleat or the like. By thisarrangement the tack 27 may be hauled toward the windward side of thevessel, in the case of FIG. 1 to the port side, which will incline theluff 28 to the vertical represented by the vertical mast 11 which whenat rest conditions is vertical. In this case the clew may be heldstationary by a main sheet 38, or the sheet may be adjustable wheredesired for slackening the clew of the sail for a more advantageoussetting thereof such as at a greater angle than a close hauled position.A boom 39 will extend along the foot of the sail 25, and the sail willbe attached to the boom at the tack and at the clew and also possibly bysliders for the entire length of the boom.

By this arrangement-the luff 28 of the sail is inclined to the verticaland is clear of the mast so that it will receive an undisturbed wind;the jib in this case will function in the usual manner.

In the showing in FIG. 2, a trimaran type of multihulled vessel is shownin which the center hull is designated as 40, while there are hulls oneither side 41 which are secured to the hull 40 by suitable bracedconnections The mast is designated 42 and is held in the center hull 40in a vertical position by head stay 43 and port and starboard side stays44. The in this case is designated 45 and its tack 46 is secured to thebow 47 in a usual manner while its head 48 is supported by the mast. Itsclew 49 is sheeted in a known manner as at 50 secured to a jam cleat 51.Two mainsails 55 and 56 have their heads 57 and 58 supported at theupper end of the mast, they being each hauled up by some halyard whiletheir tacks 59 and 60 are secured to moveable slides on tracks 61 and 62so as to hold the luffs 63 and 64 which extend from the head to the sailtack in position inclined to the vertical on either side of the mast 42,also to allow positioning of one mainsail ahead of the other mainsail toprevent blanketing of one sail by another in certain wind directions.The clew of the port mainsail 56 is sheeted as at 65 to a jam cleat 69for adjustment of the foot 66 of the sail which may have a boom toproperly trim the sail. while the clew 67 of the starboard sail 55 issheeted as at 68 for properly trimming this sail, the sheet being heldby a jam cleat 69 on the deck of the center hull 40. The sail 55 mayalso have a boom for proper trim.

By this arrangement the luffs of the mainsail 63 and 64 are clear of themast 42, thus affording unobstructed wind to the luff of these sails.Further the incline of the windward sail 56 provides a righting momentby a downward pressure to overcome the heeling of the vessel while witha leeward sail 55 inclined as shown there would be created an upwardpressure also assisting in overcoming the heeling of the vessel. This isparticularly effective in a multihull vessel where the may be laterallydisplaced a substantial distance from the mast but is also effective ina single hull vessel as shown in FIG. I as well.

In FIGS. 3 and 4 I have shown the wind as at 69 and a double-endedvessel 70 proceeding in the direction of arrow 700 with an outrigger 71.In FIG. 3 one of the sails 72 acts as a jib while the other sail 73 actsas a mainsail. The heads of each of the sails 74 and 75 are supported bythe mast 76, and when sailing with the wind coming on the outrigger sideof the vessel, the sail 72 will act as ajib and its tack 77 will besecured to the leading end 78 of the vessel which will act as a bow,while the clew 79 of sail 72 will be sheeted by means of blocks 80riding on slider 80S and sheet 80' to obtain the desired set of thesail.

In the case of FIG. 3, the sail 73 will act as a mainsail, and its tack81 will be hauled to the windward side of the vessel on a slider 81Sriding on track 81 by lines 90. Once in position the slider may besecured by a fastening screw, which is common to the art and the luffmade taught by tackle 91 so as to incline the luff 82 to the windward oroutrigger side of the vessel and out from behind the mast. Sheeting maybe as at 83, 84 through suitable blocks 85, 86.

In case it is desired to change the course and proceed at a differentangle to the wind shown by arrow 69 (FIG. 4), instead of swinging thevessel through a arc in a usual tack, the sails are shifted so as tocause the vessel to proceed in the opposite direction, the bow 78becoming the stern and the stem 88 the bow with the sail 73 acting asthe jib and the sail 72 acting as the mainsail as seen in FIG. 4. Thisis accomplished by hauling the heretofore leech 87 of the sail 73 downtight to the end 88 of the vessel by blocks 86, which edge 87 nowbecomes the Iufi or leading edge of the jib, while the heretofore tackle91 attached to the now clew of sail 73 will act as the sheets for thissail 73 once the slider 815 is released. In a like manner the corner 93of the heretofore jib 72 now becomes the tack of the now mainsail 72 andis hauled to the outrigger on windward side of the vessel by tackle 80fastened to slider 808 where it becomes the tack and the sheet 94 isslacked off so as to trim the sail for movement of the vessel in thedirection of arrow 70a.

In FIG. 5 l have illustrated a rig which is the same as shown in FIG. 3with the vessel proceeding in the direction of arrow 70a except that inthis case the lufi 82 of the mainsail 73 is hauled to the port side ofthe vessel, or the side opposite the outrigger, by means of the tackle91 which moves the tack of the sail on the slider 81S, and in this casethe sheet of the mainsail shown at 84, 85 is slacked off so that themainsail will have a proper set comparable to the set of the jib 72 withthe wind in the direction shown by arrow 69.

In the embodiments illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 it should be understood thatdirectional control must be provided by a pair of rudders, which ifcoupled together to act in unison, may be left immersed. If the ruddersare separate, then the bow rudder must be lifted out of the water.

I claim:

1. A sailing vessel comprising a hull, a mainsail having a head, a tack,and a sparless flexible luff extending from the head to the tack, meansto tension the luff and support the head above the hull, a trackextending laterally of the vessel,

means to hold the tack to the track and move the tack to a positionlaterally of the support for the head to expose the luff to the windwardside of the vessel and in a different plane than that of the means tosupport the head.

2. A sailing vessel as in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality ofsails.

3. A sailing vessel as in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality ofsails, a track for at least one of the sails, means to secure the tackof one sail to said track to incline it oppositely to the plane of theother sail with reference to the support for the head. i

4. A sailing vessel as in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of sailsmeans to oppositely incline the sails to the plane of the support forthe head, said means being adjustable lengthwise of the vessel.

5. A sailing vessel as in claim I wherein there are a plurality of sailsinclined oppositely to the plane of the support for the head, each withboth inclined oppositely to the plane of the support for the head, eachwith both clews and tacks equipped with track and hauling tackle toadjust them laterally of the vessel.

i i i i i

1. A sailing vessel comprising a hull, a mainsail having a head, a tack,and a sparless flexible luff extending from the head to the tack, meansto tension the luff and support the head above the hull, a trackextending laterally of the vessel, means to hold the tack to the trackand move the tack to a position laterally of the support for the head toexpose the luff to the windward side of the vessel and in a differentplane than that of the means to support the head.
 2. A sailing vessel asin claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of sails.
 3. A sailing vesselas in claim 1 wherein there are a plurality of sails, a track for atleast one of the sails, means to secure the tack of one sail to saidtrack to incline it oppositely to the plane of the other sail withreference to the support for the head.
 4. A sailing vessel as in claim 1wherein there are a plurality of sails means to oppositely incline thesails to the plane of the support for the head, said means beingadjustable lengthwise of the vessel.
 5. A sailing vessel as in claim 1wherein there are a plurality of sails inclined oppositely to the planeof the support for the head, each with both clews and tacks equippedwith track and hauling tackle to adjust them laterally of the vessel.